Is Michael Crabtree hurt or healthy? Is the lockout almost over or is there still a lot of work to be done? Is Carson Palmer finished in Cincinnati? We have a lot of questions with few concrete answers.

Crabtree says he’s fine … On Tuesday, the Sacramento Bee reported that 49er WR Michael Crabtree has been bothered by his left foot, which he had surgery on in 2009. Crabtree has sat out workouts for much of the Alex Smith-led sessions, but on Wednesday, he told reporters that everything was fine. And hey! Here’s Crabtree putting on shoes. Crabtree has caught some passes during workouts, and 49er OT Joe Staley stuck up for the receiver. Reporters have been allowed to watch only 30 minutes and haven’t seen Crabtree do much, but he’s insisted that he’s been active. So, if Crabtree is feeling even the slightest bit of discomfort, it probably isn’t a bad thing that he’s taking it easy during informal workouts. We really have no idea how significant the discomfort is though, and this is just one more story that makes us look forward to real football in September.

Even though the lockout remains intact, rumors of player movement continue to swirl despite teams being unable to (legally) discuss contracts or trades. In an effort to be on top of any potential moves once the lockout is lifted, we’ve continued to monitor player workouts, reports, and rumors from around the league, a few of which we’ll pass along today.

Cedric Benson said he wanted to express himself more in 2011. This would be a good start.

Benson shows interest in returning to Bengals … after working out with the team at the University of Cincinnati on Wednesday. Benson, who is technically a free agent, has reportedly attended multiple player-led workouts, which he called “an opportunity to get some real good football work in.” After voicing frustration with the offense and his role during and after the season, it didn’t appear that he’d return to the team for the 2011 season, but with the firing of OC Bob Bratkowski and subsequent hiring of Jay Gruden to take over the offense, Benson looks interested in returning to the black and orange. Gruden talked with Benson in February, explaining that his vision for the offense, a West Coast system, would feature a commitment [...]

With no news on the labor front and teams unable to communicate with players or undrafted free agents (legally), there is not much news coming out of this weekend, so we’ll just take a quick look at the rumblings from around the league.

The Redskins are reportedly the front runners to land the services of QB Vince Young, although they’ll have to wait for player movement to be allowed since the Titans still have Young under contract and will probably try to trade Young before cutting him loose. Interestingly enough, the Redskins still have Donovan McNabb under contract, but his time in Washington was pretty much up when Rex Grossman took over the starting job at the end of last season. The only other QB on Washington’s roster is John Beck, who HC Mike Shanahan seems to like enough to possibly consider as a starter. We doubt that happens, but what else can Shanahan do right now with so much uncertainty when it comes to the time period he’ll have to shape the roster?

In other QB news, it looks like Chad Henne will likely get another crack at the starting job in Miami. Once again, the somewhat soft QB market and [...]

We will have much more in-depth analysis of what the NFL Draft means for fantasy in coming days – in fact, the Post-Draft Stock Watch is already up – but as we did for the 1st round Friday, we bring you a quick round-up here of what happened on Days Two of Three of the draft as we wait for a pivotal ruling from the Eighth Circuit Court in St. Louis.

Mallett’s fall headlines Day Two … While both QBs Andy Dalton (#35 to Cincinnati) and Colin Kaepernick (#36 to San Francisco) went off the board earlier, the big news of Friday’s portion of the NFL was the fall of the polarizing Ryan Mallett. Mallett, who is the best pure passer in the draft, has had his character called into question, and he dropped all the way to the 74th pick overall in the 3rd round, where he landed with the Patriots. Obviously, the Patriots aren’t in immediate need of a starting QB, but it’s a good spot for Mallett to land because he’ll get to adjust to the NFL under the guidance of Bill Belichick and Tom Brady. If maturity is a problem, there’s no better place for him to [...]

While the NFL Draft begins tomorrow night and gives us a nice break from lockout talk, the whole event has been overshadowed by the endless labor battle that gets more confusing each day. For a few hours, we can actually talk football, but for now, we bring you more news on the labor front.

The most confusing day in NFL history … And on April 26, 2011, media members were forced to stand on street corners and count how many players chose to show up at “work,” only to not work out and leave 20 minutes later. Some players showed up at their team facilities, many didn’t, some were able to use equipment (the New York Giants), and others weren’t. What does it all mean? Great question.

We’re still waiting a ruling from Judge Susan Nelson on granting the owners a stay, which would allow the lockout to continue until the appeals process has played out over the next couple months. The NFLPA filed a motion in opposition, and it came in at 23 pages. Things are changing by the minute, but for now we’ll point you to ESPN’s detailed summary. Essentially, the players argue that a stay should be denied because [...]

The NFL and its players are back together in mediation today, meaning we are returning to days of endless speculation and hoping that everyone actually comes to their senses. Courtroom football is back, and we know everyone must be thrilled.

Mediation is back! … After two days of meeting with the NFL and the players separately, everyone will be back under one roof today, under the supervision of Judge Arthur Boylan in Minneapolis. We can only hope that mediation is more thrilling this time around after weeks of reporters standing outside in Washington with little to show for it back in March. Judge Susan Nelson has insisted that decision-makers are present at the mediation sessions, so big guns such as Roger Goodell, Patriots owner Robert Kraft, and Steelers owner Art Rooney are there today. We likely won’t be getting many details from the sessions with the vow of silence, but we’ll keep hoping that progress is made. As for what to expect, the National Football Post’s Andrew Brandt points out that, ideally, the two sides use mediation as a lifeline before Nelson comes down with an unfavorable ruling against one of them. Of course, mediation has gotten us nowhere before, so [...]

More mediation on the way … If you’re a fan of football – which we assume, given that you’re reading this sentence – it seems that you should like Judge Susan Nelson. Although she hasn’t ruled on lifting the lockout yet, signs last Wednesday appeared to be pointing in that direction. Now, ESPN reports that Nelson will impose mediation on the NFL and the players early this week. The main question still to be answered is the location of mediation. The NFL wants more of George Cohen in Washington, and we all know where that got us last time: weeks of staring at Twitter and reporters standing on street corners for nothing. Meanwhile, the players want mediation under the court in Minnesota. At this point, anything done under the court’s supervision is probably a good thing, speaking only in terms of having football in 2011. For most fans, the only concern is having football, so we’re all for Judge Nelson [...]

About Matthew Camp

Camp has been a fantasy football player since 1997, when he remembers using the box scores from the New York Daily News.

I have been buried since the NFL draft doing our post-draft work, 2015 projections, and more, so I didn’t get a chance to post a draft I participated in for most of May (slow draft). It’s for Athlon Sports’ fantasy magazine, so I can’t publish the entire draft. But here’s my team. This league stars 1 QB, 2 RBs, 3 WRs, 1 Flex, 1 TE, 1 PK, 1 DT, 1 DL, 1 LB, 1 […]

Although it is disgustingly early for a 2015 fantasy football draft for most, we are closing in on the time of the year when a draft is at least viable. Free agency is basically over, so all we have to wait for now is the draft. I’ve also been intrigued with what our friends at myfantasyleague.com have been doing with their MFL10s. It’s a great idea for the […]

Here are the top stories I’m following for Week 17 Cleveland (7-8) at Baltimore (9-6) Brown QB situation. Brian Hoyer (right shoulder/biceps) did not practice Friday. Rookie Connor Shaw is set to start for them at Baltimore. Do they give Terrance West any snaps to evaluate him? He played 0 snaps last week. Does Josh Gordon do anything to leave us something t […]